Man declared insane in rape attempt

John Nickerson

Updated 7:26 pm, Wednesday, January 2, 2013

STAMFORD -- The city man who got part of his tongue bitten off when he tried to rape a woman on the grounds of a downtown church in June 2011 was found not guilty by a judge at state Superior Court in Stamford who ruled Wednesday the man was insane at the time of the assault.

Judge Richard Comerford said during a one-day trial three weeks ago, Assistant State's Attorney Maureen Ornowsky proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Gerard Landon, 48, sexually assaulted a middle-aged Stamford woman at the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist on June 23, 2011. He said evidence presented at the trial, held to determine if Landon was in his right mind at the time of the assault, showed he forcibly and unlawfully restrained the woman while trying to have sex with her.

Even though elements of the crime had been proven by the state, Comerford said Landon has a history of psychiatric problems dating to 1988 and early on was diagnosed with Schizophreniform disorder.

Later, doctors determined Landon was a paranoid schizophrenic with paranoid delusions and was having auditory and visual hallucinations that led him to be admitted to Stamford Hospital a little more than a month before he attacked the woman, Comerford said.

Landon's attorney, Public Defender Howard Ehring, said Comerford's decision was the right one to make in the case. He said not long ago, Landon was doing well with his mental health issues, but ran out of money for his medications. When that happened Ehring said, "He just spiraled into a mental defect where he could not differentiate between right and wrong."

The victim in the case testified Landon approached her as she was leaving the church, questioning what she was doing before asking for a hug. The woman gave Landon a hug, but he wouldn't let go, she testified.

The woman said Landon then pulled her to the ground and tried to pull her clothing off; when she screamed for help, he kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth. She bit his tongue once and when he kissed her again to keep her quiet as he was forcing her to touch him, she bit about an inch of it off of and spit it out, she testified.

During his trial, Dr. Justin Schechter, a Stamford psychiatrist, said Landon had been put on three anti-psychotic medications was not taking any of them and as a result his behavior became more erratic. Schechter testified Landon was "psychotic" at the time of the attack.

In his ruling, Comerford said Landon "lacked the capacity, as a result of his underlying disease and psychotic disorder, to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to control his conduct within the requirements of the law."

Comerford said Landon, who has been jailed since his arrest, must be confined by the state Commissioner of Mental Health for further evaluation.

Ornowsky said she was not surprised by Comerford's verdict on Landon. "He has a longstanding history of mental health issues," she said.

Ehring said Landon will be taken to Whiting unit of the Connecticut Valley Hospital, where he will be kept at least until his court date in April and probably much longer. Ehring said that he did not know how long Landon will remain at the state mental hospital.